It's Too Late For Me To Fall For You Now
by Lapis Lazuli 13
Summary: When Nico stops to notice Percy's existence and doesn't try to find a mop of black hair and a pair of sea green eyes in a crowd of people anymore, the older demigod starts to pay attention to the son of Hades. And Percy likes what he sees, but it's too late for him to start falling for the other now.
1. Illecebrous

_**1, Illecebrous.**_

 ** _Illecebrous_** _(adj.) alluring, attractive, enticing._

…

When Nico told Percy that he was over him and that was just an ideal hero crush, he meant it.

Percy was surprised. He thought about the other's feeling toward him in so many ways, but it was definitely not _that_ way.

It happened anyway, though. All the crush, the confession, and the rejection. Well, Nico di Angelo was the first one and maybe one of the very few people Percy knew that could turn a confession into a rejection immediately after he just confessed his feeling. Saying Percy was unexpected was still putting it mildly. He was speechless.

And latter, he was angry.

What did Nico mean when he said: _"You're cute, but you're not my type?"_. What was _his type_ anyway?

Subconsciously, Percy started to pay attention to the younger demigod. It was purely curiosity, he told himself. Percy just wanted to know what's Nico di Angelo's type, that's all.

The progress to know Nico's type involved knowing _Nico_ more, too.

And to be honest, Percy developed a feeling that he liked what he saw.

When he first met Nico, the other was still a ten years old kid. So innocent, so naïve, and yet so annoying. Just at the third or fourth question he asked Percy and the older demigod was more than ready to feed him to the wolves or some monsters instead of hearing one more thing escaped from his mouth.

It was a bubble of guilt burst into Percy's stomach when he thought about that chatterbox kid. He wasn't here anymore. The brood, moody and melancholic demigod named Nico di Angelo whose life was destroyed by Percy since he was ten. Too young to have a traumatic life, to lose all of his family and have almost no friends at all. The son of Poseidon was kind of scared when he found out Nico spent more time with the death than the living since he was eleven. The kid did absolutely nothing to deserve that destiny and it happened anyway.

But now… at least Percy could be a little less guilty because Nico had a lot of friends now, another sister, a surrogate sister and also the scariest girl Percy has ever met, a close friend with blond hair and blue eyes and sometimes the son of Jupiter could be annoying and overprotective as hell when it came to a certain son of Hades, but Percy was thankful for it because he felt he didn't deserve the role of Nico's big brother as much as Jason.

And a son of Apollo was paying more than just friendly attention to Nico, too. Sandy blond hair, tanned skin, and blue _blue_ **_blue_** eyes – Percy started to wonder what's that Nico's type? Blond and blue eyes? Both Jason and Will were more than gifted in the appearance department. Not that Percy envied them because he knew he's handsome as well, but it was still something he needed to understand.

So why did Annabeth wasn't Nico's type? She was blonde. Ah no, her eyes were stormy grey. And well, Nico's gay, he told himself. _You're sure an idiot._

No, this was definitely _not_ his subconscious mind saying. It sounded more like Jason or Leo and when the hell these other demigods could be his voice of reason?

That was bad. Percy needed to stop thinking for a while.

Nico was growing up.

Percy wasn't the first one to notice it, but at least half of the camp did a good job of not-so-subtle checking him out, so Percy of course knew it.

And damn, that kid was cute once, but now "cute" wasn't a suitable word to describe the son of Hades anymore, even though he was still adorable in a somewhat terrifying way.

No, Nico was _attractive_ and _hot_ as hell.

Not Percy's words, but he secretly agreed with it. Puberty did nothing but favours to Nico. The younger demigod was still shorter than Percy – maybe he hadn't reached the growth spurt yet, or maybe he was just short – but his features were slowly changing. He lost his baby fat and now his face was more masculine and handsome – and still soft and feminine and beautiful in an angelic way. He had high cheekbones, a defined jawline, and a well-sculptured nose. And don't let Percy start about his eyes. Those eyes were the most captivating features of the son of Hades. They're dark chocolate brown, but the brownish black was so deep and piercing and they looked like bottomless abysses that can capture other's soul.

Percy made his first mistake when he stared at Nico's eyes for too long, and he felt like he had lost into those eyes.

…

The second mistake happened in Arena.

Nico and Jason were sparring and a crowd of campers gathered around them, watching the match with intense concentration and enthusiastic interest. They were even cheering and shouting something that Percy found suspiciously like _"Take off your shirt, dudes!"_.

Jason did as they wish, and the crowd only cheered louder. Percy whistled, Jason's body was a statuesque figure crafted by the god or goddess of fitness. His muscles were defined and very eye-catching. He was strong-built and he was almost double Nico's body size. It was a surprise that the other demigod could keep up their fight that long and sometimes put Jason in a dangerous situation.

Jason counter-attacked the newest scratch on his chest by cornering Nico and tearing his shirt off.

"Hey!" Nico shouted angrily, he wasn't a fan of public nudity anyway. But for Percy and the other campers' surprise, his body wasn't as heavy-built as Jason's, but it was lithe and swift in movements. It was toned in all right places and the healthy olive complexion was a certain bonus. "You're so dead, Jason!"

"Make me." Jason winked at Nico and avoided the swing of his wooden sword. They both agreed to not use their real weapon since Nico's Stygian Iron sword was deadly dangerous, so the worst wound they could give each other was just a bruise.

Percy didn't pay much attention to the match anymore. His concentration was focused on Nico's body, and honestly, Percy really liked what he saw. He wondered if it felt good running his fingers on the other's skin, touching his strong muscles and biting his neck…

Wait a minute. The neck-biting part was definitely a little bit too far. Percy jolted and he found out he was having the most inappropriate and unexpected boner now. Imagining the way Nico was lying underneath him and moaning with his flustered skin and shirtless and maybe all naked wasn't doing him any favor at all.

Shit. Percy needed to go back to his Cabin right now or things would be really awkward.

…

After the incident in the Arena, Percy found it's hard to look straight at Nico's eyes. And he felt a little bit guilty with Annabeth, but she was still as wonderful as ever and when he told her that he was checking both Jason and Nico out, she just rolled her eyes and called him an idiot, and told him that his sexual awakening maybe a little bit confusing and maybe his sexual tension was something else too, but honestly he couldn't care that much because he wasn't a genius like her.

But it didn't need to be a genius to figure out that he was paying Nico more attention than he should. And that couldn't end well because Nico did say Percy wasn't his type and he couldn't be foolish enough to like him again.

So, what was his type anyway? This was the forgotten original question that Percy was desperately in the need of an answer.


	2. Zemblanity

_**2, Zemblanity.**_

 ** _Zemblanity_** _(n.) the inevitable discovery of what we would rather not know; the opposite of serendipity._

…

"Percy, what the hell does that even mean?" Jason raised an eyebrow at Percy, and the son of Poseidon shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"I don't know. That's why I ask you."

"I don't know either," Jason scowled. "Why don't you ask Nico directly?"

"I can't come to someone who had a crush on me once and ask him what's his type. It's really awkward." Percy explained and Gods, this conversation was starting to be really weird now. It only got worse every second passed.

"So you think that asking his best friend about his type is less awkward?" Jason shook his head unbelievably. "How could you survive and save the world not once but twice anyway, Percy?"

"… You have a point." Percy sighed. What could he do to get an answer to his question now? Percy would go insane soon enough if he can't find a way.

…

"Do I like Nico?" Will repeated Percy's question with an unbelievable expression on his face. "The question should be why do I like Nico, and my answer will be why the heck I don't, dude."

"So why?"

"Gods, are you really that dense, Percy?" The son of Apollo rolled his eyes and put down the scissors in his hand. "Nico is strong, he has tremendous powers and a very good control of his skills – except those times that he nearly let himself fade into shadow didn't count. He is kind and brave – seriously, how can he still be sane after all those shitty things life throws at him? It's really hard to imagine what he has gone through. If these reasons aren't enough, so his appearance is a certain bonus. He is attractive, you have to admit it."

"You're right." Percy face-palmed and started to question his choice of asking this son of Apollo.

"Of course I'm damn right. But why did you ask anyway?" Will raised an eyebrow, and Percy wondered should he tell the son of Apollo the truth or not. Being the son of the God of Truth made Will be kind of unable to lie, but did he possess the ability to detect when someone's lying or not? Percy didn't want to gamble with his chances.

"I just wonder because recently I pay a little bit too much attention to Nico." That's technically not a lie though.

"And you like what you see?" In the blond's voice had a hint of tease, but Percy didn't mind it.

"Absolutely yes."

Will chuckled slightly, his hands were playing with a medical tool. "Dude, it's a dangerous area of water. You still could drown even if you're a son of the Sea God. Be careful."

"Could you be less cryptic, please?"

"My dad is also the God of Prophecies. My words can be very hard to decipher if I want to."

"Some times your dad makes me feel even more irritated than Jason's dad."

"Like father like son, I guess," Will only shrugged, a wide smile crossed his face. "Remember my words, Percy. It's a shallow but dangerous area of water."

…

"My brother's type?" Hazel repeated his words slowly like she was tasting them. "I don't know, he didn't tell me much. I only know you're not his type. Yes, don't make that face at me Percy, he told me the story."

Percy face-palmed so hard that he winced when his forehead hurt. "Why does he need to do that to me?"

"He's my brother, it's his obligation to let me know what's going on in his life," the curly-haired girl just shrugged, grinning at the son of Poseidon. "But I think that's not the only reason you Iris Message me for. Spill it out, Jackson, what's gotten in your mind?"

"I might be pissed off at the fact that I'm not his type, so I pay attention to Nico to know what's his type exactly," the black-haired boy sighed. "And damned me, I really like what I see."

"Well, if this can make you feel better, you can't be blamed for that," Hazel said with a reassuring voice. "My brother is hot, I know."

"Thanks, but it doesn't really make me feel better."

"Things will be fine with time, you know," Hazel sighed. "Frank calls me, I need to come to see him. Goodbye, Percy. And good luck."

When Hazel broke their contact, the son of Poseidon sighed heavily. Talking with Hazel helped to improve his mood a little bit, but that's all. He couldn't think of another person to talk about his problem now. Annabeth was always a good choice since she's intelligent and supportive and all, but he guessed asking his girlfriend about that particular problem wasn't a smart move. Grover was far away now and he's pretty busy with his job, so Percy didn't want to bother him.

When his two oldest friends weren't a choice, Percy started to thought about some newer ones. Hmm, Reyna was obviously not a choice, even though she's as close to Nico as Hazel was. He wasn't that close to the female praetor of New Rome, he sort of rejected her once, and she was just naturally intimidating and a little bit overprotective whenever it came to the youngest son of one of the Big Three. No, he can't and he would never ask Reyna about his Nico-related problem.

Frank wasn't a choice either, he's good and kind and like a teddy bear, but he's in a devoted relationship with Hazel, a girl, and he didn't seem like the type that he can ask about affection and feelings advice. Bonus the fact that both the son of Mars and the daughter of Bellona were at New Rome – the distance put on a great excuse to not ask them about some non-dangerous and non-threatening problems.

How about Leo? Percy and that son of Hephaestus weren't that close to talk about boy noticing problems, and Leo's better with machines than people after all. Piper? She's the daughter of love and she's sensitive, she might give him a gold help, and she's not the gossip type as the rest of her cabin either.

So Percy decided to ask Piper. Let's hope that she would have some mercy for him to not tease him and not tell his embarrassing little secret to anyone else – even though Percy already did that when he talked with Jason, Will, and Hazel before.

…

Piper only gave him a funny look when he finished his story. Percy was patiently waiting for her to answer, but after two minutes he can't stand her quiet, mysterious and calculating gaze anymore. "So are you going to tell me what should I do or I should leave now before things get awkward between us?"

"The only awkward relationship you're having now is with Nico, not me." Piper finally spoke, her kaleidoscope eyes were glinting with amusement and Percy started to wonder if asking her for advice was really a good decision. "And boy, you're so dense, even denser than Jason."

"… I'm positively sure that's an insult."

"Duh, whatever you think," Piper smirked. "The problem is, your sexual awakening is messing with your mind."

"I'm almost 18 now, isn't it a little bit too late for my sexual awakening to happen?" Percy questioned curiously. He always thought he liked girls, well, because the first and the only girl he has ever noticed was Annabeth, and… he didn't have many chances to question his own sexuality when apocalyptic wars and quests and prophecies just happened back-to-back and made his life already a mess.

"There's no age limit for that thing to happen," Piper snorted. "My mother's cabin has tons of stories that related to that and if you want to hear or read them, you're welcome to our casual gossip night, or I can let you borrow some books."

"Thanks for the offer, but no, I'm good," Percy declined before Piper actually had any idea. "Okay, so now I know that's messing with my mind. What can I do to make it stop?"

"You have to figure out what do you truly want in your life," Piper smiled, and the son of Poseidon wasn't sure if she was charmspeaking him at this moment or not. "Sometimes your mind and your body can give you mixed signals and indications. You need to keep a cold head, but a warm heart to look for the thing you desire in this world."

"You start to sound like Will Solace when I asked for his advice, and that prophecies-alike way of talking is really terrifying."

"There are always many ways to decipher a prophecy," the daughter of Aphrodite shrugged. "But there's only one way to find out your deepest desire."

"And what's that?"

"Listen to your heart, Percy," Piper smiled sweetly. "Your head is for making important decisions in your life, but your heart is for reaching the final purpose of your existence."

Percy's heart wanted to see Nico more, so his mind told him to make a decision.

"So, Nico, are you free tonight?" Percy asked the younger demigod after he finished his training, looking mildly nervous. The fact that sweat was glistening on Nico's skin and instead of making him look gross, it actually made him look insanely hot didn't help to decrease the son of Poseidon's accelerating heartbeats at all. It's quite a long time since the last chance he had to feel like he can't control his breathing and it's more terrifying than exciting for Percy.

"Maybe yes, I think," Nico tilted his head slightly to the left side, some stray hair fell down and touched his high cheekbone. Percy resisted the sudden urge to reach his arm toward the black-eyed boy and put them away. "Why do you ask?"

"I… want to make up for all the time I didn't notice you before," Percy eloquently replied, then he mentally slapped himself because yeah, that sentence didn't make him sound like a total jerk at all. "So I'm thinking… a movies night, or a small trip outside the camp, or… do you have any activity that you want to do?"

One of Nico's eyebrows raised up like he was silently saying, _'Oh, so we're having that conversation now?'_ , but thankfully, he didn't say it out loud. "I don't have any idea in particular. Movies night sounds better than going outside the camp at night, though."

"So it's decided," Percy grinned. "Your cabin or mine?"

"Whichever is fine," Nico shrugged, attaching his sword to his belt chain. "Both our cabins have TV and CD player after all. Is 8 P.M. it fine for you?"

"Great!" Percy exclaimed. "So I'll see you in my cabin at 8 tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Nico nodded, gesturing something at the door. "Now excuse me, I think I need a shower now."

"Ah, okay," Percy immediately stepped away to make way for him. "See you later."

Nico only waved his hand at him before walking away. Percy looked at his back, a strange feeling of anticipation mixed with wary swept over his body, leaving him with a light lingering feeling of uneasiness.

…

Nico materialized inside Percy's cabin at exact 8 P.M. when he was shuffling through his collection of CDs and Percy cursed out loud when he saw the younger boy, "Oh holy shit! Nico, you scared me!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean that."

"You could use the front door instead! At least warning me before you appear like that!" Percy put a hand over his chest, exhaling deeply.

"I'm sorry," Nico muttered, looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm used to shadow-traveling into Jason's cabin like that, so I just sort of forgot that you're not him."

Percy stopped his action, frowning at that unexpected information. Sure, he knew Nico and Jason were close – even though he still didn't understand how and when and why, since he obviously knew the youngest demigod years before Jason – but he didn't know they're _that_ close: Nico said that he's used to shadow-traveling right inside the son of Jupiter's cabin like he did it hundred times before, and somehow that information left Percy with a bitter jealousy in his chest.

Nico might interpret his frown into something else because he hastily said. "I won't do it next time, I promise. Please don't be mad at me."

"No, I'm not mad, just… surprised, I think," Percy shook his head, ignoring his new feeling and the urge to ask about actually how close Nico and Jason were because seriously, that's none of his business. "Which movie do you want to see?"

"I don't know, I don't watch movies frequently," Nico looked down at his feet. "Can you choose?"

"I have a Disney collection here. Have you ever watched any of them? Oh wait, do you know what's a Disney movie? I know you're born in the 40s so…"

"Gosh, I _do_ know, I'm not that ancient, Percy," Nico pouted at him, and it felt like a sharp pain just ached in the son of Poseidon's chest when he actually thought that action was so endearing. "I watched Snow White and Pinocchio before. They were nice, I think, but I don't know some recent films, haven't taken a look at them yet."

"Good, so I have a lot to show you," Percy grinned, taking out a CD. "The little mermaid, okay?"

"Why am I not surprised about that?" Nico rolled his eyes. "Put it on, I haven't seen that movie."

"I saw that four times before, but it's good and I could do that again without getting bored."

"Please no spoiler when I'm watching it then," Nico nodded, gesturing toward the bed. "Your cabin is lack of chairs and proper table. Can I sit on the bed, or do you prefer me on the floor?"

"Just take the bed, what kind of host I am if I let you sit on the floor?" Percy scowled, but he was smiling. "Wait a minute, I made some popcorn in the kitchen, let me grab them."

"I don't know, the usual insensitive and idiotic you?" Nico smirked. "Okay, popcorn sounds good."

"I change my mind, I'll take all the popcorn because you just insult me and it hurts my feelings." Percy walked out of his kitchen with a big bowl of popcorn and a grimace on his face.

"Suit yourself," Nico didn't react much when he already sat down and looked at the TV screen. He stopped Percy before he could protest. "Hey, the movie starts. Be quiet."

Percy opened his mouth, then closed it and silently sat next to Nico. Even though he claimed that he would take all the popcorn before, he still handed the bowl to Nico and the younger demigod mumbled a soft "thanks" at that, didn't take his eyes off the screen.

…

They watched _The Little Mermaid_ together in peace at first. Percy really liked Ariel and Sebastian, and he laughed every time when King Triton appeared on the screen because he knew his brother Triton didn't look like that at all. Nico gave him a curious look at first but he didn't ask anything, and Percy smiled at him when a thought crossed his mind that the concentrating face of the younger boy was really adorable.

Percy ignored that at first, but ten minutes later he suddenly found out that he's watching Nico instead of the movie, and for some reasons, it's hard to take his eyes off him.

At this moment, Percy knew at least five campers were currently having a crush on the son of Hades, both boys and girls. He actually felt sorry for those girls because they didn't have a chance to win Nico's heart at all since he's gay… or maybe not, what if he's bisexual? Percy didn't know, Nico told him that he had a crush on him once so it's obvious that the raven-haired boy wasn't straight, but nobody knew much about his preferences, or him in general. Damn, that kid was secretive as hell and it nearly drove Percy up a wall in the past, but they're on good terms now so he didn't want to think about it anymore.

Another thing that Percy's didn't want to think about was the fact that he seemed can't stop not-so-subtly staring at the son of Hades, and damn again, he truly liked what he saw. He usually looked at Nico under the sunlight or the campfire, when he's training or he's talking with others or doing something on his own, and all those scenes had something in similar: they happened outside and Nico was in the middle of an action. The son of Hades was swift in movement, he had a graceful but deadly aura around him and watching him when he fights was oddly satisfying.

But this image of Nico was new, Percy had never ever seen him in a sort of quiet, unmoving and indoor activity before, and the differences were interesting: Nico was dangerous when he's doing something, regardless it was training or just walking around camp, with all that death aura lingering around him and the way shadows moved slightly when he's near them, like they're ready to respond to his command. But all those stay-away-from-me manners seemed to disappear when he's sitting quietly and concentrating on a movie like this, he sat still and didn't look away from the screen, his eyes were slightly widened, the light from the movie reflected in his big, dark obsidian irises like it was dancing. He bit his bottom lips sometimes, mumbling something inaudible once or twice under his breaths in about ten minutes, and he didn't even blink when something unexpected or interesting happened in the film. Nico looked like a child at his age when he's acting like that, a cute, adorable and somewhat innocent one, with a slight aura of childish naïveté around him. It kicked start the inner brother inside Percy, and suddenly he wanted to hug the smaller kid and wrap him inside a blanket, feed him sweets and protect him from all the dangers in this world.

For a moment when Nico subconsciously licked his lips with his small pink tongue after eating a piece of popcorn, Percy also wanted to grab his chin and place his lips onto those enticing rose petals and devour the taste of the younger boy. That thought snapped him out of his imagination and Percy violently shook his head in disbelief, didn't understand what just happened.

"Percy? Are you alright?" Nico's velvety voice made him startled slightly, and the son of Poseidon silently cursed under his breath when those obsidian bottomless abysses were staring at him with curiosity and concern. "You seem… zoned out." He grabbed the remote and pressed pause.

"Yeah, I did," Percy shyly smiled, didn't dare to look at the younger demigod. "Just lost in thought for a moment. Nothing important, let's get back to the movie."

"… Sure." Nico didn't look too convinced by his answer, but he didn't ask further when he pressed the unpause button and started to focus on the movie again.

Percy looked down at the bowl and he's actually happy when there's only a little popcorn inside it. "I'll refill the bowl, don't need to pause the film to wait for me, just continue."

"Okay," Nico nodded, not looking at him when he stood up and walked to the kitchen. Percy heard his voice when he's waiting for the microwave. "Hey, you wouldn't mind if I lie down, right?"

"Go ahead." He shouted out loud and the microwave made a small 'ding' at this moment. When Percy refilled the bowl and came back to the bed, he slowly realized that maybe it's not a very good idea when he agreed with Nico.

The younger demigod was lying on his stomach, his chin placed on top of his hand when his legs were lightly swinging in the air. It's easier to see all the curves on his body when he's in that posture and Percy gulped uneasily when he looked at the other's lean, long legs and surprisingly hairless – to be honest, those legs looked like they belonged to an attractive girl, but Percy knew he should never say it out loud if he didn't want to piss Nico off.

Another part of Nico's body that Percy could compare to a girl was his waist. Seriously, that kid was miserably thin in the past, and even though he gained some more weights now, he still looked skinny, like a layer of olive tone skin covered small, lean muscles before it reached his bones. His slender waist looked like it could fit into one of Percy's arms, and the need to wrap one arm around Nico's waist to check the idea was so tempting that Percy almost did it without thinking.

He cleared his throat and asked instead. "Nico, how much do you weigh?"

"Huh? Why do you suddenly ask that?" Nico turned his head to look at Percy curiously.

"You look so light as if I could easily lift you up with just one arm." Percy shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm not that light," Nico scrunched his nose, seeming offended. "You can guess, I actually don't know what's my weight."

"Really? I thought Hazel would force you to stand on the scale at least once a week since the first day she started that new diet to make you gain some weights."

"I don't care that much," Nico shook his head, looking back to the screen. "Anyway, if there's nothing importa–… Hey, what are you doing?!"

In a bold move, Percy slid one arm under Nico's stomach and wrapped it around his waist, then lifting him up to his shoulder. He grinned victoriously when he found out that kid's waist actually fit in one arm. "I was right, I barely feel any weight on my shoulder right now."

"Put me down before I make you regret doing that in the first place," Nico threatened, but then he gasped loudly when Percy switched the posture and after two seconds, he stood up and carried Nico in bridal style. "Stop that! It's not fun!"

"I think it is," Percy smirked, the other looked strangely adorable in his arms like that, blushing a light shade of red and mildly angry. "You're really cute when I'm holding you like this, do you know that? Like a small kitten."

"Stop making fun of me!" Nico demanded, but his flustered cheeks didn't make him look as scary and terrifying as he wanted to be. "I'll punch you square in the face if you don't put me down right now!"

"Aww, I'm scared for my life now," Percy chuckled at the other's expression, who knew Nico di Angelo was capable of making an irresistible blushing face like this? "What else you will do if I don't put you down?"

"Perseus Jackson, I swear to the gods–" Nico stopped abruptly when Percy jokingly loosened his arms around his upper body, and he quickly threw his own arms around the older's shoulders to keep him from falling down. "Don't do that!"

"I thought you want me to put you down, so why are you grabbing my shoulder like that?" Percy shook his head in a mocking manner, grinning widely. "Little kitten is giving me mixed signals, isn't he?"

Nico glared at Percy and smacked him hard at the back of his head. "You idiot, release me!"

The hit was hurt more than Percy expected and he jumped up at that, losing his balance when his feet touched the floor again and ended up falling on his bed with Nico underneath his body.

"Ouch, it hurt!" He winced and closed his eyes, reaching one hand to touch the back of his head. Damn, the kid was strong.

"You did it to yourself," Nico hissed next to his ear, and Percy gasped when the hot breath touched his skin. "Let go of me, you're heavy, I don't want to be crushed by your weight."

"You did it to yourself," he repeated what Nico just said in a teasing voice. "Endure it for a while, I won't get up soon, my head hurts and I blame it on you."

"I'm seriously not kidding you, Percy. You're heavy." Nico angrily replied and Percy opened his eyes, slightly lifted his head up and tilted it to the left side to look at the smaller demigod underneath him.

Apparently, it wasn't a wise move.

Percy's breath hitched when he realized their noses were just one inch apart, Nico's captivating brownish black eyes were staring at him intensely, his face was still having a faint shade of red, his hair was disheveled and pointed in all direction, those wavy curls looked so soft, and the son of Poseidon found himself really wanted to run his fingers through the other's hair right now.

Nico bit his bottom lips subconsciously, and Percy thought that kissing him at this moment was even a better choice, and it was so tempting that he didn't realize he was leaning down until Nico's slightly scared voice snapped him back to reality. "Percy, what… what are you doing?!"

He froze mid-action and really wanted to slap himself. What was he thinking?! He hastily sat up and got away from Nico, silently cursing under his breath. His heart was beating like crazy in his chest and Annabeth's smile made him feel so embarrassed and guilty.

"… Are you alright?" Nico cautiously asked, putting a hand on Percy's shoulder. He sounded concerned, but still mildly nervous. "You're tired, right? I think you should get some rest, we could continue our movie night sometime later."

"… Sure, I think it's better," Percy was disappointed when Nico said that, but in a second thought, it might be actually better for his mental state right now. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine," Nico shook his head, offering Percy a faint smile, and the older demigod felt both tempting to kiss him and guilty to think like that. "Don't think about that too much, I'm sure it's just because you're exhausted."

"I am," he admitted. He's so exhausted with all his thoughts about touching and hugging and kissing the younger boy right now and he wanted to take a break from exploring his confusing stage of sexual awakening. "I'll make it up for another night, I promise."

"You don't need to," Nico withdrew his hand from Percy's shoulder, standing up and looking for a shadow inside the room. "Wash your face, brush your teeth and get a long sleep. You'll be fine next morning. Goodnight, Percy."

"Goodnight, Nico." Percy nodded and the figure of the younger boy started to disappear with the shadow.

Percy sighed heavily when he's left alone in his cabin. He buried his face in his hands, then massaging his temples. That was bad. He almost kissed Nico if the other didn't stop him and he almost cheated on Annabeth with all his actions this night. Or he might already cheat on her just by thinking about those things.

 _It was really, really bad._

Percy thought he might need to avoid Nico for a while, to clear his mind and think straight.


End file.
